A Brand New World
by Words Are My Weapons
Summary: George can't stand England anymore, everything reminds him of Fred, so he decides to go to District 12, who have also suffered great loss due to a war, where he meets Katniss. Maybe they can heal each other. One of my old fics, thought you may be interested


After 3 months, the pain of losing Fred was still raw for George Weasley. He hadn't returned to the Hogwarts grounds since the end of the battle, and he could barely stand being in the same room as his family. Everything reminded him of Fred, his other half. The one person who George never thought he would lose, a constant in his life. Someone who would never die.

To avoid the heartache of his life, George packed up and left, leaving his still grieving family behind him. As he drifted down the stairs, he imagined that Fred was there by his side for one last blissful moment before reality would set in. Ron, Ginny, with their eyes still red from tears constantly shed, the two people he and Fred were always meant to protect. Who would have guessed that they'd be the one causing them real pain? Mum, who never goes anywhere without Fred's knitted jumper in her arms, not that she moved much now, begging me not to go, clinging onto my shirt. George could tell she wanted to tell him not to leave her like he did but all she could choke out was "Fred." Fancy that Freddie, even after you're gone, she still can't tell us apart.

George decided it was best to leave Europe all together and go to America. It would be a fresh start, and with the atrocities they called the "Hunger Games" are over, they were living in a broken world just like he was living with a broken heart. George apparated into a bombed town that used to go by the name of District 12. He had heard about this place from a group of wizards in Diagon Alley. Supposedly, the bombing was meant to kill everyone on sight, but many escaped, due to the heroics of one muggle, Gale Hawthorne. George didn't know how much of this information was true, wizards are notorious gossips, but if their knowledge was in fact, true, he wanted to find this muggle and help him restore District 12. Maybe that way he could mend himself in the process.

District 12 wasn't completely in ruins; it was obvious the muggles had been trying to restore the district and it was working. The main reminder of what had happened here, aside from the lost loved ones and the new bright buildings, was the meadow. George wasn't sure he could even call it a meadow, even though it was clear that was what it once was. All it was now was disturbed soil. A graveyard. He shivered. Even on another continent, he couldn't shake the emptiness he felt. George wandered aimlessly about the houses, trying to distract himself when he saw a girl with her hands reaching out towards a dandelion, an ugly looking cat meowing at her. Something about her dark braid scratched at George's memory. He couldn't quite put a finger on it. Then he heard her sobs.

Not quite aware of what he was doing, George walked warily in her direction before sitting in front of her, on the other side of the dandelion. His approach must have startled her because she jumped slightly, letting out a scream and reached behind her as if for a weapon. George jumped too and he quickly put up his hands to calm her.

"Woah, calm down!" He spoke fast, barely one word getting out before the next tumbled after it, but the girl seemed to regain her senses. There were tears still rolling down her cheeks and she seemed to notice because they were swiftly wiped away.

"What do you want? Who are you?"

Her gaze was calculating, her earlier distress forgotten.

"How rude of me, I'm George. George Weasley. How about you?"

"You don't know who I am?" Now she looked suspicious, "I don't recognise your accent, where are you from?"

"One question at a time, please. I'm from England. Also how would I bloody know what your name is, I just met you."

"A foreigner? I almost forgot there was a whole world outside of Panem. I guess that explains why you don't know me. I'm Katniss, Katniss Everdeen." She looked away from my face and back to the dandelion. With each word she spoke, her voice became softer and less hostile. As if she were giving up. George didn't even know this Katniss girl, yet he didn't think she was the type to give up easily.

After a few more moments of silence, something clicked for George,

"Wait, did you say your name was Katniss Everdeen? As in Katniss Everdeen who started a revolution?" For the second time, she looked up suddenly, this time she started glaring at him.

"I thought you didn't know who I was," Her gaze pierced him.

"I don't, really, I just remember stories I heard from some wizards…" Katniss cut him off.

"Wait, wizards?" George froze. "Who are you?" She didn't sound like she thought he were crazy which surprised George. He couldn't believe he let that slip out. He had become so comfortable in their banter, it was almost like… Realisation hit him. It was almost like being with Fred again.

Her grey eyes refused to let his gaze wander. He hadn't felt a connection this strong with someone in a very long time. So he did the only thing he could think of, he decided to tell her the truth.

"Ok, listen. You may not believe me, I understand that, but I promise you that I'm not lying and I'm not crazy," Katniss nodded, urging him to continue. Oh, why not, George thought, if she thinks I'm nuts I can just take away her memory. "I'm… I'm a wizard."

Katniss processed this in her mind before responding. "Ok, so you're a wizard. But why are you here talking to me? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, mixing potions or something?" She said it as a joke but when George's face fell, she realised something was wrong. Cautiously she reached out her hand, further than she had with the dandelion, until his hand was under hers. "What's wrong, George?"

The simple use of his name from her lips seemed to bring him back. George opened and closed his mouth several times as if he were about to answer her, instead all he could choke out was the same word his mother said to him as he left.

"Fred."

Katniss didn't understand what he meant. Who was Fred, but the heartbroken look on his face kept her from asking. Clearly it was someone important to George. Instead, all she did was grip his hand tighter. This surprised her. She wasn't generally affectionate with anyone. Anyone except Prim. In that moment, Katniss understood his pain. Fred. Prim. Maybe her and George share something, she thought, or maybe they have both lost the same piece of themselves.

"Fred. He was your brother wasn't he?"

"And I know about your sister, Prim."

Only silence followed his words, until a sob came from him. It was the sob of someone who never thought they'd be whole again. Katniss soon found herself crying with him, for him, for Fred, for Prim and for herself.

When the tears stopped coming, from both of them, night had begun to fall. George could still feel Katniss' hand in his. Oddly, it comforted him. He looked up to see her already staring at him. Neither looked away, it was like they were daring one another to be the first one to blink. Instead, George leant over and kissed her.

Her cheek was still damp with tears, just as he imagined his were, but her lips were warm. She didn't move and George pulled quickly away cursing at himself for being such an idiot. Katniss could hear his mumbling, so she shut him up by reaching over and kissing him back. For the first time since they both lost the one person they cared about most in the world, neither of them felt broken, neither of them felt alone and neither of them felt like they would never be happy again. In that one sweet moment, they both felt sparks of happiness. Happily, George thought, maybe she's is a spark for me too.

England was a new place for George when he returned home from the first time. All of the reminders of Fred were still there, and George still felt the pang of emptiness, but it no longer consumed him. It had been 6 months since he was here. Nothing had changed, except for one thing. The spark of life I felt with Fred was back once more. The life and the fire had returned. He was making jokes, laughing. But it was a new light that brightened his life. His other half was no longer his partner in crime; instead he had the Girl on Fire by his side. All he had to do was look over at Katniss to know he had found the only other person, aside from Fred, who would ever perfectly understand him. Both of them will forever more carry the scars of war and of loss, only now; the burden is a little lighter. It's truly a brand new world for George and Katniss, together, watching a dandelion float in the wind.

R.I.P. Fred Weasley and Primrose Everdeen.


End file.
